


Good Stuff

by kingpeacock



Category: Doctor Who (2005), Torchwood
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-01
Updated: 2018-10-01
Packaged: 2019-07-23 11:17:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16157912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kingpeacock/pseuds/kingpeacock
Summary: Jack remembers that first kiss. AU but canon compliant, no spoilers!





	Good Stuff

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by the Shakira song of the same name.

It was snowing. Definitely snowing, as far as Jack's memory will allow him to remember, and there was a big lake that had frozen deep enough to let people skate on it. The Doctor had a look on his face, like a kid at Christmas, that had made Jack laugh, and that boyish grin had only got wider when Jack suggested they rent some skates.

Jack lead the way and checked his wristband for the date and place they'd landed; Michigan, 3rd of December, 1943. The war hadn't really touched this far-flung corner of America yet, though the attack on Pearl Harbour had shaken the country's core of safety. The people out on the lake, women, men and children alike, seemed to be determined to forget the war for at least a few minutes, maybe an hour, before they had to go back to melting down pots and pans to make bombs for the Allies.

Jack smiled sweetly at the young woman who was renting out skates which had certainly seen better days. She went very red, her snowy-pale skin flushing elegantly against her black overcoat and fluffy hood. “Two pairs, please,” Jack said, indicating the Doctor who was still watching the skaters with childish wonder.

“What size?” she asked, turning to look at the stack of skates. “I'd put you at an 11 and your friend... Maybe a 12?” Jack flashed her another smile, nodding his agreement, and she fetched the sizes while he produced money, unsure of the proper amount he should offer. “Oh, no, it's free,” she smiled.

“Are you sure? I don't mind-”

“I'm sure,” she repeated firmly, pushing the skates across the tarnished wooden table she was using as a makeshift counter. “Enjoy yourselves, and don't forget to skate in an anti-clockwise circle to avoid crashing.”

“Thanks,” Jack said, then walked over to the Doctor, holding the skates a pair in each hand. “Ready?”

“This is why I love human beings. Middle of a war, and they're out, throwing themselves around in sub-zero temperatures on sharp metal skis on a frozen lake. Brilliant!” Jack laughed, shaking his head in exasperation that was only half-serious.

“Put these on without cutting off a finger or two,” he said, handing the bigger pair of skates over. Jack, having had more practice with ice skates, finished and got up, walking carefully over the compacted snow and onto the ice. He had a few moments of panic where his body tried to remember how to skate without making a total tit of itself, then started skating smoothly over the ice, remembering how to turn, how to slow down and stay upright. He had a moment of triumphant showing off, then skated closer to the snowy edge of the lake. “C'mon!” he called to the Doctor, who was very gingerly stepping over the snow, trying to mimic Jack's actions.

He took one step onto the ice and slipped, only staying upright because Jack caught his arms and held him up. “You okay?” Jack asked, a little concerned – he imagined that it must be strange for the Doctor to not be able to do something.

“Yup! Just slippery-er than I thought,” the Doctor replied, eyes on his feet which were slipping backward and forward in a completely uncoordinated manner.

“You need to look up, look where you're going,” Jack advised, loosening his hold but still supporting the Doctor, feeling like he was watching Bambi walk on his own for the first time. “Now, you have to move smoothly. Keep watching me.” The Doctor followed the instructions, eyes on Jack's face the whole time, and, as Jack skated backwards, he found himself inching forward under his own propulsion. He laughed raucously, and Jack giggled along, too.

“Look, ma, no hands!” Jack let go of the Doctor's arms and let out a gleeful shout when the Timelord managed to keep in a vaguely standing position and skate a few feet back into Jack's arms. He was giggling slightly inanely, and Jack smiled and joined in. “Well?”

“Brilliant! I take back anything negative I ever said about winter sports!” The Doctor replied, eyes back on Jack's face. Jack smiled a little sadly, then was surprised by the Doctor suddenly being very close. Jack closed his eyes and, mentally gave himself the 'if-it-all-goes-pear-shaped-pretend-you-were-drunk' pep talk and kissed the Doctor.

Even a few years down the line, Jack could still remember that quiet thrill at the way the Doctor responded eagerly. Jack was glad it was dark, because it covered the blush on his face but it showed the grin as they pulled away, one mirrored on the Doctor's face.

“So, counter-clockwise?” The Doctor said, looking back at his booted feet with that same sense of wonder a child does at their first pair of shoes. Jack laughed and nodded, grabbing the Doctor's right hand and dragging him along, going around the edge of the skating rink and slowly, so they didn't get in anyone's way or risk the Doctor landing on his face in the ice.

“You like skating, then?”

“Yes, but probably only with you. There're a lot of things that are more fun with you, Jack,” the Doctor replied, letting go of Jack for a moment to skate solo before his arms windmilled frantically and he landed in a heap on the ice. Jack skated over as quickly as he could, helping his friend up and dusting the snow and ice off his suit. “See? Falling flat on your bum isn't any fun, but it's not every day you can say that you got picked up by Jack Harkness.”

Jack barked into laugher. “No, I guess not.” He paused in his laughing then, and looked at the Doctor slightly more seriously. “You want to go back?”

“What, just as I'm getting the hang of it? No!” The Doctor started tugging Jack to skate along with him, and Jack rolled his eyes in mock-exasperation before hurrying on after him.

Jack often looked back on this moment, and, he guessed, it marked a lot of beginnings. The beginning of Jack and The Doctor, definitely, but also of a new Doctor, who was far more open to new things than any of his predecessors. Jack liked to take the credit for that himself.  



End file.
